Chicken bones stuck in lungs removed
Scans and tests showed some little pieces of chicken bones, 2cm long each, in both his right and left lungs.” Dr Myung Hoon Sung, CEO, Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital
ras al khaimah — A 69-yearold Emirati man ended up in the operation theatre after inhaling small pieces of chicken bones which got lodged in his lungs for a year. The patient, identified as Mohammed Al Abduli, suffered acute chest pains and inflammation in both his lungs and was admitted at the Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital recently.
However, the problem was not diagnosed correctly at the start. It started a year ago, when the chicken bones got ingested into Al Abduli’s lungs by accident while he ate in a hurry.
After experiencing pains, he underwent many scans and tests, at eight hospitals in the UAE and abroad. “All these failed to end my pain, until I was properly diagnosed and treated at the Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital.”
Dr Myung Hoon Sung, the hospital’s CEO, said the patient underwent several tests at eight local and international hospitals. “However, he was inaccurately diagnosed as suffering chronic inflammation of the lungs and airways. But (at Sheikh Khalifa), scans and tests showed some little pieces of chicken bones, 2cm long each, in both his right and left lungs.”
These led to severe chest pain, shortness of breath and recurrent infections in the bronchi, Dr Sung explained. “The medical team in charge of the case decided to perform an urgent endoscopy to remove the bone pieces.”
An endoscope was entered from the respiratory tract to the trachea, and then to the left and right lungs. “Smaller bone pieces were removed from the right lung.”
Dr Sung said such cases are so rare that patients may not notice or be aware that they have accidently inhaled tiny bones. “They only get worried when they start suffering severe pain, shortness of breath and frequent infections in the airways, owing to the food waste in.”
The patient condition is stable now. “He has healed so quickly and no complications were reported.”